


Music is a Stairway

by Lizzard_The_Wizard



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Allusions and Easter Eggs, Frisk does not exist, Help Wanted, Laid Off, Minor Drinking, Multi, Music, No Specific Run, Probably Some Pre-Relationship Stuff, Reasons Why Grillby Is Quiet, Snowdin is the Land of Familar Faces, Styx is Good Singer and Musician, Tangling with the Wrong Monsters, Too Many Jobs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-09-01 21:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8639179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizzard_The_Wizard/pseuds/Lizzard_The_Wizard
Summary: A girl has been working countless jobs all her life trying to stay afloat. When she is laid off from her job with no hope of making it, she finds a streak of good luck. A kind but strangely withdrawn owner of a small restaurant needs a pair of extra hands around to help. But will he help her finally realize and pursue her dreams?





	1. Who Let the Dogs Out

**Author's Note:**

> There will be references to real life and secrets, watch out for them. Some aren't as bold as others :) . Music frees the heart.

Grillby was working behind the bar as he did everyday, serving fries and burgers, mixing drinks, he seldom listened to any monster's stories anymore. No one really ever talked to him much other than to order and he was quite fine with that. Grillby didn't need to speak to be a good bartender, as long as the drinks were perfect and the food was warm and to their liking. Being completly on fire didn't stop him either.

This evening was no different from any other evening in Snowdin, it was always below zero. The cold made them go to Grillby's for a bite of something hot. He had a few loyal customers and regulars that were in almost everyday, dogs mostly. Those dogs always came after their shifts in the Royal Guard were over. They were something to see... Of course, he had other monsters that came in, one of his regulars was a short skeleton named Sans. He always cracked out puns and made the others laugh. Sans was in so much that he had his own tab. Grillby should have never made that tab because Sans never paid it off. He would have to eventually. Oh well, Grillby made decent money from his profit and tips were rather good. 

It gave him much pride, to have come this far with his restaurant without any help. It had taken years for him to become this successful and that had been anything but easy. Now, nearly every monster in Snowdin had been to Grillby's at least once, even Sans's nutty younger brother Papyrus. Even though Sans was older, Papyrus was much taller, about the same height as Grillby himself. With Snowdin's biting cold, the only monsters that lived there had been for all their lives. Secretly, everyone wished to see a fresh, new face amongst the crowd of familiars. Grillby also wished to have new customers, but he'd take any one. 

As his customers sat at the tables occupying themselves with food or drinks or possibly playing poker, he stood behind the bar. At the moment he was not needed for anything, so Grillby absentmindedly polished a glass with a clean white cloth, mostly tending to his thoughts than the glass though. Suddenly, there was the chime of bells as someone entered the restaurant. He looked up to see Sans strolling in with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his blue jacket and a big grin that was hard to miss. He sat down at the bar like he always did.

"Heya, Grillby. How's it hanging?" he greeted the flaming man, still grinning.

"... It's fine." Grillby answered after a moment, his flames crackling quietly. 

"Hm, you're seeming a little COLD today." Some of the customers laughed slightly at Sans's pun. "What's BURNING you out? Still haven't found anyone to hire, yet?" 

Grillby sighed, sounding more like wind blowing through a fire. "... No." He really needed to hire someone to help. It was getting too much to handle all by himself. As much as he liked the place, there was always a lot of work to be done by one person after hours, and Grillby was sore and tired from not taking a break.

"Maybe you could hire me." Sans suggested.

"... Pay your tab." Grillby said. 

"Heh, you'd probably FIRE me anyway." Sans joked. Some more customers found amusement in the pun. Sans stood from the bar seat and made his way to the door. Halfway he turned back towards Grillby. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find somebody to hire." And he left, bells announcing his departure. Why do you come here if you don't order half the time? Grillby wondered to himself, polishing the glass in his hand. He gazed down at it, his fiery reflection looked back up at him, warped from the convex surface.

"Hey, Grillby. Can I get another round of fries?" A dog spoke gruffly from across the restaurant. He was pretty certain his name was Doggo. Grillby abandoned his post at the bar and entered the kitchen. 

In ten seconds flat he slid out a plate of fresh and definitely hot fries with salt. He stuck his index and middle finger in his mouth and whistled to capture Doggo's attention. With a jolt, Grillby realized his mistake at once as all the dogs turned towards him, tails beginning to wag slowly picking up speed. 

Their tongues lolled out of their jaws as they panted excitedly, slobber dripping from their lips. And then as if a silent signal was given, they lunged towards him, barking ecstatically. Grillby bolted into the kitchen as they leapt over the bar at him. He discover he wasn't even safe in the kitchen. He turned around quickly and held his entire weight against the door, trying to hold it back as they threw themselves at its tough surface, baying and howling all the while. 

The fiery bartender struggled as hard as he could to keep the door shut. A sudden hard slam made his shoes slip and the door gave a little ground to the dogs. They tried to stuff their snouts through the gap, leaving sticky saliva on the walls. Grillby was starting to worry now, they could trample him to death or worse, the dogs would relentlessly lick him. His heart dropped at the the thought. His flames crackled while he held the door that much stronger. Please leave! He thought in panic. What if they got in the kitchen? They would wreck everything he had worked for! Grillby strained against the door with all his might, it was becoming painful with the effort of trying to force back the dogs but he still did it. His arms felt like they were about to give out any minute when the force on the opposite side vanished. He fell suddenly against the door and leaned on it in relief. That had only been a few minutes but it felt much longer. Grillby felt his pounding heart and sank down against the kitchen door, chest heaving from exhaustion. The bartender sat there for a minute or two before he stood to check through the window. The dogs had gone and he sighed as he left the kitchen. 

His arms felt a bit numb from his battle as he reentered the bar. Surprisingly, the dogs had done much less damage to his bar than he thought. Grillby had imagined there being broken bottles and spilled alcohol, but there wasn't much, save for some paw prints and- and... Was that a scratch? ...Yes. It definitely was a scratch on his bar. Grillby's flames snapped in moderate frustration. 

"Grillby. You alright?" A bird-looking monster asked from the far side of the bar. The flaming man simply nodded politely, glad it was over, but secretly wishing everyone would ignore him. "There was someone in that chased the dogs out." she stated. It took Grillby a moment to respond.

"... Who?" he asked, slightly curious. The avian monster claimed they didn't know. This evening he had received much more attention than he would have liked. Some of the other customers were still staring at him causing Grillby to fell uneasy as he busied himself with washing the bar of its newly acquired paw prints. The air now smelled unpleasantly like wet dog, it overpowered the normal smell of his restaurant. Two monsters got up from the table and left. 

It was dark outside, Grillby wondered what time it was as he opened a pocket watch. 11:09 pm. The bells hadn't quite finished ringing before they jangled loudly once more. This surprised him, he wasn't expecting anyone else in so late. He watched intently as whoever it was crossed the floor.

"Stupid dogs." This surprised Grillby, it was a girl's voice who spoke. So she had been the one who had driven away those mutts. She did not speak angrily, her voice was forlorn and melancholy, perhaps a bit frustrated. Her head was down and her shoulders bowed as she sat down at the bar, closest seat to the right, Grillby's left. The girl appeared to be in her early twenties. He paused scrubbing the bar.

"...Hi." He said softly, at a loss. The fiery bartender studied her face for a moment. Hazel eyes, brown slightly styled short hair, and there was a faint dusting of freckles on her face. And she had thin rectangular glasses. She was frowning, eyebrows knitted together. Grillby knew that whoever she was, something had happened that was bothering her quite a bit.

"Hello." The girl sighed solemnly. It appeared the way she said it, she was not trying to force emotion upon him. That was a very polite quality many failed to recognize everyday. Grillby was unsure of what to say.

".....Hi." His words failed him. She was staring up at him, a small sad smile played on her lips for a moment. He felt sympathy to see a kind face distraught, even if he didn't know her. "...Can I get you anything?" she paused before answering as if there was a lot on her mind, thoughts that needed collecting.

"I don't know... Something warm. What'd you got?" she asked. Grillby stepped aside so she could see the menu. She read it and considered her options. "I guess hot chocolate would be nice." The fiery man was slightly surprised, no one seemed to order that. He didn't know why.

"...Marshmallows?" He asked as he set the towel he had been cleaning with under the bar.

"I don't know, surprise me." She said absently, her eyes wandered.

__________________________________

    The flaming bartender left without another word and exited through the door all the dogs had been fighting to open. She had never been in this restaurant before, but the smell was nice, a bit of burgers and woodsmoke. It was pleasant, it felt safe, she had needed that. So many things had gone wrong today and the day before, she felt like she was going to explode from misery. She had no idea where to turn now. A soft crackle of flames brought her back to reality as the bartender easily set down a steaming mug of hot chocolate. She was shocked, how could he had made it so fast?There were five marshmallows floating around lazily in the warm brown drink. She lifted it and took a tentative sip, unsure of how hot it was. It was sweet and warming, it was in that perfect temperature that it was hot but not enough to burn her mouth. She broke out in a smile that combatted her blues for a bit.

"Thank you." she said wholeheartedly to the bartender. "This is wonderful." He looked up from scrubbing.

"...You're welcome." he murmered softly, though she heard faint gratitude he appeared to hide in his deep resonating voice. Was he shy? That didn't make much sense. She thought as she took a gulp of hot chocolate, taking with it a marshmallow. She felt the warm liquid warm her insides, driving out the bitter cold and also washing away the events of the past few days. As she drank, she looked around and noted the neatness and pristine order, someone put a lot of effort into it. That was something she could appreciate. It was easy to relax here, she decided she might come back another time before she became aware that the bartender was looking at her again.

"I'm sorry, did you say something? I've got a lot on my mind." she apologized and took another drink from her mug.

"...No. But... I was." he said as he continued washing the bar. "...I've never seen you... Before."

"Oh, I don't go into town very much. But I thought I might tonight because..." she trailed off as her dark thoughts returned, putting a damper on her mood again. She sipped her hot chocolate.

__________________________________

     He had already spoken more this night than he had all month. If maybe he could help improve her mood or at least offer an ear to listen, then Grillby would.

"...Gold for your thoughts?" he offered and leaned an arm against his bar. She gave him a quiet, solemn laugh.

"I got laid off." she said with a sad smile. "I've been working all over the place, trying to find a job that would actually keep me. Every place I've worked at keeps letting me go. For about a month and a half I was hired out east near Hotland. It was a dead end job, delivery for room service at this dumb hotel." She shook her head. "Its been the most money I've made in a really long time, though. I was hopeful that I'd finally get back on my feet but they passed some budget cuts. And well... No more room service." she finished. Grillby had nodded appreciatively while she spoke. 

"...That's rough." Grillby sympathized, his flames glowed and flickered on the bar.

"Heh, tell me about it." The girl muttered. He thought quietly. I would rather not. She continued speaking again. "Now I don't know where to go from here. I can't just stop paying bills or anything... Debt's bad enough as it is." she quickly drained the rest of her hot chocolate in a single draft.

"...Refill?" Grillby asked quietly.

"No, this was fine, thank you." The flaming man just nodded politely. Suddenly, the girl's face lit up like a match and she went rigid, realization and worry sparked her eyes. "H-How much do I owe you?" Her voice was panic-stricken. Grillby briefly raised his hand in a settling gesture. He shook his head slowly.

"...On the house." He stated calmly. Her nervousness melted off all at once as she slumped back onto the seat. She exhaled like a deflating balloon. 

"Thank you." She said earnestly. Grillby couldn't help feeling there was something he was forgetting.


	2. Staying Alive

"...Sure." He said and nodded. Grillby didn't usually do those types of generous deeds much, but he liked her, plus she HAD driven off those dogs. That situation could've gotten very bad had she not stepped in. And she did seem to be a nice person, it was a shame of what happened with her job... A job? Grillby gasped.

"...I'm hiring." He told the girl. She froze with a peculiar gleam in her eyes.

"R-Really?!" She jumped up from the seat. Grillby couldn't believe his good fortune, this girl had saved him from dogs and she could very well have been the help he needed.

"...I'm Grillby." He introduced and extended a fiery hand.

____________________________

     "You're the owner?" she asked. "Hi, I'm Styx, it's really nice to meet you!" She shook his hand, it felt as warm as her hot chocolate had been. Styx's heart leapt. This man had been kind enough to listen to her go off on a tangent, pay for her drink and now he was offering her a job? She felt overjoyed, when was the last time anyone had been so kind to her? "What are the requirements?" Styx asked. Grillby reached into his vest pocket and retrieved a folded piece of paper. He handed it to her. 

1: Must be able to wash dishes  
2: Must be able to wait on customers  
3: Must be kind and considerate

"I-Is that it?" she asked dumbfounded. Grillby nodded. "Dishes...?" The flaming bartender glanced down at himself and back up again. "Oh! Wow, that must be hard." Styx said. "I can do all these things and more, sir." Sir. Grillby practically jumped out of his shoes! 

"N-No! Please don't call me that!" he insisted without hesitation. Styx gave him a blank stare. The corners of her mouth twitched before she broke out in a smile, a real smile. A few of Grillby's flames flickered a light bluish-green for a moment. She had never felt so happy.

"I can do it." she promised, there was no way she could mess up, it seemed easy enough.

"...Alright." That's all the flaming man said.

"I don't have to sign any papers or anything?" She asked, many of her jobs had forced her to sign millions of sheets of pointless paperwork.

"...No." He confirmed. Grillby paused for a moment. "...How old are you?"

"I'm 22." She answered. Grillby just nodded. Styx didn't know how to gauge his emotions and had no idea what he was thinking. It was sort of unsettling, plus Grillby did not appear to have eyes. He did wear glasses though, and they bore a slight resemblance to her own glasses. 

____________________________

     "...Okay." The downside to hiring another person was that he would have to talk more. Grillby wished he could speak into people's heads, then he wouldn't have to talk. But nevertheless, he was relieved to have extra help, if he had to talk a bit more, then that was what would have to happen. That girl, Styx, hadn't even asked what her wages were or how often she'd have to work. Maybe she needed the job more than she was willing to admit. 

The bells rang again as the last of his customers' left for the night. Grillby's was empty except for the flaming man and the girl at the bar.

"Do you need any help now?" Styx asked him. It had been a bit of a slow day for business, there wasn't much he needed done.

"...No, but I should probably... show you around." Grillby responded and led her through the kitchen door. Past the door to the right was the kitchen, it would have looked more like one if there was more cooking appliances. There was a stove that Grillby hardly ever touched, he used fire magic to cook food so he didn't need to have it. There was a refridgerator and a freezer, counters and cupboards and drawers and everything including the kitchen sink. All the rooms connected to a short hallway in the back of the restaurant. The room past the kitchen was the "break room", except Grillby thought it wasn't much more than a glorified closet. And then there was the door that led upstairs to his apartment. Styx was observing everything it seemed, her gaze didn't stay on any one thing more than a second. She intently stared around, it appeared she was taking note of the place. After he showed her everything, they returned to the front.

"That's everything then?" She asked him. Grillby nodded again.

"...You can come in at 10 a.m." Grillby informed. There never was much business in the morning.

"That's kinda late." Styx commented, seeming a bit pleased. "You got it." The flaming bartender did not have anything else to tell her besides one thing.

"...Thank you... For helping me." Grillby told her appreciatively.

"Huh? Oh, you mean the dogs." She said. "It was no trouble." Styx smiled at him and she turned to leave. And then she added. "I haven't been fired so many times because I'm a bad worker." Grillby believed her, she wouldn't have been so attentive or determined if she hadn't. "Good night, Grillby." And just like that, she was gone, leaving Grillby behind washing the bar.

____________________________

     Styx had run all the way home, fueled by her excitement and joy. Which was a complete mistake. She stood doubled over on the porch panting as she tried to get oxygen back into her system from the frigid air outside. Other than that, she couldn't have been better. She had a job again, there was still hope! Styx stamped the snow off her shoes and breathlessly entered her house in the woods. 

She sighed and relished the sudden warmth for a moment. Her house wasn't very big or ritzy in the slightest, but it was home. The front door opened into the living room where an old clock was ticking on the wall. It was about twenty minutes past twelve and Styx was beat as she took off her coat and went on with getting ready for bed. Her routine slipped by in a haze and all she remembered was climbing into bed and promising that she would do everything she could to keep her new job. Then she was out like a candle in the wind.


	3. Today I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything

Sometime in the morning, she became dimly aware of the bright light flooding in through the curtains on the window. Styx huddled deeper into the warm cocoon of blankets. Though she wanted to continue sleeping, the gears in her mind began to awaken.

She had a new job and her fiery employer seemed nice. She wasn't gonna give up, but was this job going to grow anywhere? Or was it another dead end job like countless others before it? She had no idea, Styx DID know that she had been drowsily staring at a crease in the blue fluffy blankets drawn up around her head.

She yawned and stretched her arms straight against the wall. She sat up blinking and slid her feet out onto the gray carpeted floor. She threw the blankets back up to their rightful spot covering her pillow. 

Styx went into the kitchen. Ah, she had remembered to set the coffee to make in the morning. She retrieved a mug from the cupboard and filled it about three-quarters full. The coffee mug had the saying: "It takes years to build a reputation and seconds to lose it" printed in red and yellow letters. 

Then she dumped French vanilla creamer in her cup and stirred it after she returned the bottle to the fridge. Her coffee might as well have been all creamer because that's how light it turned, which was the best. There was so much creamer that she didn't need sugar. 

Styx opened the blinds over the window in the living room. She winced and squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden brightness. She blinked. The light reflecting off the snow on the ground under the trees was blindingly white. 

Something that Styx did that no else else would was that she didn't sip her coffee. She drained the whole mug by the window looking out at the snow. She set her cup down on the coffee table in front of the couch and went to refuel the fireplace. It was still burning but she threw in a few more logs of firewood so it didn't burn out when she was gone. There was plenty off wood for a few weeks sitting cut outside with a tarp over it. 

She glanced at the clock. 8:27 a.m. She decided to get a shower and get changed. Styx didn't bother with drying her hair, it would dry fast enough on its own. She put on a clean pair of jeans, a plain green T-shirt and a thick black hoodie. There was the logo for Fender on the front with a silver electric guitar. 

She popped a bagel in the toaster and flopped down on the couch, waiting for her bagel. Her toaster took forever to heat up so she had some time. There wasn't much else to do so naturally, she pulled her guitar case out from under the couch. Styx held her old acoustic guitar and picked out a few chords. They began to transform into a old tune she once knew. 

Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden. It was definitely a sappy love song which she found terribly annoying. Once, she had that song stuck in her head for two weeks straight, it was the worst torture imaginable. The only way that any of those songs could be "corrected" was to change the lyrics into something so absurd that you would forget the original song. You could say Styx had a knack for making dumb parodies... Which is exactly what she did.

"I want to wolf down all of the snack food,  
I'm gonna eat all the nacho cheese,  
There's nothing left for you or the others,  
After I eat this I better leave..."

That's all that she got before the toaster went off, it made her jump suddenly. Styx returned her guitar to its case and went back to the kitchen. She opened a drawer, grabbed a knife and thrust it next to the toaster. Then she got a jar of peanut butter and a bottle of honey from a cupboard above the sink and a paper plate. 

After generously slathering on the peanut butter and honey, she took it into the living room, turned on the television, and ate it. Peanut butter and honey bagels were her favorite, she used to eat them with her family when she was little. 


	4. Video Killed the Radio Star

What was on television today? Mettaton. What was on yesterday? Mettaton. What would be on tv tomorrow and next week and next month and for the foreseeable future? Mettaton, Mettaton, Mettaton. Styx did not understand the Underground's obsession with watching a television on wheels on her television-that-did-not-have-wheels. She had heard once that the Underground used to have a popular singer, but then Mettaton stole everything. After all, The Buggles had told it as it was, Video Killed the Radio Star. 

There weren't enough bagels in the world to fix that, so if she ever had the time, Waterfall was a good place for finding human things, movies, books, odds and ends, and instruments. That's where she found her guitar. And humans definitely did not watch Mettaton, now THEY had culture, they had REAL music and art, there was so much more to their lives than trying to survive day to day. Sure some of them had it bad, in other countries people were starving or homeless. 

Styx hadn't even seen the sun in eleven years. She sighed and kept eating her breakfast, becoming aware that peanut butter was sticking to the roof of her mouth. It wasn't her fault she was trapped in the underground, but there wasn't anything she could do about that. Styx slowly struggled to unstick the peanut butter from her mouth with her tongue. She switched off the tv, she hadn't even been watching anyways and got up to throw away her plate. 

The time was 9:34. It was about half an hour till she had to report for work. She felt a little nervous, to be honest. Styx didn't know why she was suddenly getting the jitters, it didn't make sense. She couldn't see any reason to have butterflies in her stomach, and it wasn't really like her to get nervous. 

Her glasses, somehow she'd forgotten to put them on, Styx realized and went to retrieve them. Apparently she'd also forgotten to turn the lights off. The turned off the lights, there was enough magical light shining in from the window outside. Styx put on her glasses feeling stupid for having left them in her bedroom. She did need them but it wasn't like she couldn't see without them. 

Her cell phone was sitting on the nightstand beside her bed and as she picked it up and stuffed it in her jeans pocket, she thought: Why do I have this? It's not like I have friends to call anyway. In truth, she only had it JUST to play a game called Bejeweled. You had to swipe different colored gems together in lines of three or more to match and score points.

That was its only purpose besides the millions of human songs she had downloaded onto it. However, there were always so many she still wanted to download, and even more  whose names she sadly could not remember. Songs she once knew, singing them with her family in the car or just because. 

Styx retrieved her keys and grabbed a ballcap that was hanging on a small hook by the front door. It was black and had the words: "Hotel California" embroidered in yellow. Along the brim to the right there was a small eagle with wings spread. She went out the door and into the bright snowy, freezing world of Snowdin singing.

   "Video killed the Hotel California,  
    Such a techno place,  
    Such a boring place...  
    
    Living in a town they call 'Snowdin',  
    Oh the snow's six feet deep,  
    And you're gonna freeze..." 


	5. I Don't Wanna Work, I Wanna Bang on the Drum All Day

Grilby's seemed to be located in the center of Snowdin. Styx noted as she walked through the snow for her first day at her new job. She always felt a little uneasy walking into town, even the small one she lived in the forest by. If anything, she was a bit of a hermit, perhaps that was not exactly the correct term but the least amount of attention she recieved, Styx believed was better for everyone. She didn't quite enjoy walking through, but she would have to become used to it.

That's what was running through her thoughts as the restaurant slowly neared with every crunching step. There was the laughter of small monster children playing somewhere close by, their giggles of child-like wonder added to Snowdin's calm but happy atmosphere. With the snow blanketing every surface and the white dusted pine trees, it gave the town a feeling of eternal Christmas. It was almost warm enough for her to forget the biting cold that was beginning to numb the tips of her exposed fingers and her nose. Styx's breath froze as a cloud in the air, if it had been colder it would've become a solid mass and fallen to the snow-ladder ground at her feet.

Out of nowhere, an unannounced snowball hurled towards her head. She immediately ducked not a moment to soon. It exploded into a million pieces of snow on one of the windows in the front of Grillby's. A lot of it stuck to the glass in a semi-round starburst shape. Styx glanced towards the direction of the snowball. 

A few little humanoid rabbit, mouse, and she-did-not-know children were having a snowball fight. A small yellow reptilian child was also taking part in the flurry of flurries. He was wearing a yellow and black striped sweater. The monster kid did not appear to have arms of any kind and as he abruptly tripped and fell face first into the snow, he was immediately pelted with a barrage snowballs.

Styx turned to the window and wiped the snow off the glass with her black hoodie sleeve. On the outside she peered through the window. The restaurant was empty, save for Grillby sitting behind the bar reading the newspaper, casting a warm orange glow around him. There was a midnight blue coffee mug sitting on a coaster next to him. Styx opened the door and went inside.

__________________________________

     The chime of bells caught Grillby off guard. He hadn't expected anyone in twenty minutes after he opened. Perhaps it was Sans? He looked up over his newspaper. Oh. It was Styx who walked in. She approached him with a happy smile.

"Good morning." She chirped. She sounded eager and chipper. While Grillby unfortunately felt the opposite. He had not had the best night's sleep because his back and neck had persistently ached into the wee hours of the morning. 

"...Hi." He mumbled and took a sip of his coffee. It was pretty much black with a small spoonful of sugar mixed in.

"Um, how's it going?" she asked, a slight uncertainty was present in the undertone of her voice. Maybe she was a little awkward, or shy perhaps? Grillby could sympathize a bit with that. 

"...Fine." He replied. People weren't exactly his strong suit either, despite being a bartender, restaurant owner, etc. Styx just nodded, her smile had faded into an expression of ambivalence of sorts. 

"That's good." She did not sound like she supported her statement, though. The unsure note of her voice was becoming a bit more prominent. Is it me? Grillby wondered. It probably was, he assumed. His lack of facial expression was what made people uncomfortable, other than the fact he was made of fire. Plus, he didn't say much, not anymore. However, maybe this time it wasn't just him, she did not to trust herself to hold conversation, it seemed. Styx turned and stared at the shiny wooden floor.

"... Business doesn't pick up for a few hours... Unless its Sans." He informed.

"Oh." She said. His new employee   appeared to have not brought anything with her to do. "Who's Sans?"

"...Skeleton, short, makes a lot of jokes... Owes me a lot of money." Grillby answered, his orange flickering flames crackled in the silent, tensely awkward cloud that befell them. He didn't like the feeling much.


	6. Sister Christian

"I didn't really bring anything to keep busy with." She muttered.

"...I've been reading to pass the time." he was about to suggest she check the librarby.

"What book are you reading?" Styx asked, suddenly interested. She perked up like a campfire given a shot of kerosene. 

"...Because of Winn-Dixie." Grillby responded. It was a book written by humans, she might not kno-

"I've read that!" she said, smile returning. Of course she had read it... It was at the librarby, he wasn't surprised.

"...I haven't started yet." he said.

"It's a really good one, it's really sad though." Styx explained. A sad book... So many hours he had spent entrapped in his own little world of silent stories. There weren't any limits when you were lost in a good book. "I like reading. What's your favorite book?" she asked and sat down at the bar beside him.

"...72 Reasons Why I Hate Mettaton." He told her a little reluctantly and folded his newspaper, setting it on the cherry wooden surface of the bar.

"That's a book?!" She gasped. Maybe she along with countless other monsters liked Metta- She grinned, exposing bright white teeth. Styx laughed. "I have got to read that! I hate that tv with wheels!" Wow. That was something you didn't see everyday. Someone who hated Mettaton. Grillby himself did not have any liking towards the Underground's only celebrity. He felt the flames on his face wave slightly in a pleasant manner. Perhaps having her around wasn't going to be as bad as he thought.

"...So do I." He said and took another sip of his coffee.

"How are you drinking that? I don't mean to be rude but doesn't that hurt you?" She asked, confused.

"...You can burn coffee." He stated simply. Styx nodded, it was clear she hadn't thought of that because of a glimmer in her hazel eyes. Also his mouth was indistinguishable with the rest of his face.

They did not say much after that. Grillby was content with the absent of speech. Every once in a while he would engage in idle conversation, but that did not even suggest he enjoyed talking. He kept to himself and most people respected that. Although he would have to speak more with Styx around, Grillby was not thrilled with the idea. 

Now that it was brighter out, the fiery bartender noticed a few more physical qualities about his new employee. For starters, she was definitely much shorter than Grillby was, who stood at an even six feet. Styx appeared slightly more than a head shorter. And the rest of her physique was equally proportioned to her small build. Even while she wore her thick black hoodie, he could tell she was lean and fit. When she turned her head light muscle flexed in her neck. Perhaps she played a musical instrument? 

Grillby returned his attention back to his newspaper. The main article was of course about Mettaton, what else would it be on? A new law passed by King Asgore? An invention or scientific discovery led by the brilliant Royal Scientist, W. D. Gaster? No. The front of the newspaper, dedicated to Mettaton and his vain obsessive ways! He had more than likely written the paper regardless of accurate facts himself! Grillby exhaled a crackling sigh of annoyance. Why did he even buy these? There was nothing but gossip from front to back. 

_________________________________

     Does he just sit here by himself all day? Alone? Styx thought to herself as she studied the deep red wood grain on the bar. That was lonely. And what, did he just read? Surely there was more to do than just that? She had never owned a business before and couldn't imagine how hard it must be to run one all by herself. Styx glanced up at the rows and rows of alcohol as she folded her hands together on the bar. Vodka, gin, whiskey, scotch. That's what the labels proclaimed was in the bottles. What did that matter to her? She never drank, she knew how it made people, plus she did not have the money for such a potent habit. Quite frankly, Styx didn't really know the difference when all she really drank was mostly water. 

She suddenly became aware of eyes burning holes in the side of her head. That made her stop cold, though she hadn't exactly been moving in the first place. She hated being stared at, the less attention she received would be better for everyone else. Styx's gaze fixedly froze over a brown glass bottle of... What was that? Captain? Stop looking at me, please. She thought and instantly wanted to smack herself. As oddly withdrawn as he seemed, Grillby had been very kind to her and gone out of his way to help her despite them being complete strangers. Styx glanced out of the corner of her eye. 

Yeah he was looking at her, or she assumed that he was. Grillby's absence of eyes made it difficult to gauge what he was seeing, all Styx had to go off of was his glasses. Maybe it was okay though? What does your employee look like? Jee, I don't know, I never look at her. She thought and tried to relax. She was working at a restaurant now, of course people would look at her. That was something to get used to. Styx absently pulled out her phone and started playing Bejeweled.

As much as she liked that game, it got aggravating really quickly when she couldn't even make it past Level 10. And she didn't have much else to do. Styx turned and looked around the restaurant for something, anything to catch her eye. And something did. Sitting in the corner silently was an old jukebox. She absolutely loved music! Even if there wasn't much to do, music made everything go by faster.   Styx smiled to herself as she got up from the stool and approached it. She sighed exasperatedly.

Upon further inspection, she was devastated to see a large jagged hole in the shiny colorful metal. 

"...It's been broken for years." Grillby told her quietly at his place at the bar. He sounded possibly upset when he said it. 

"Could I try to fix it?" Styx asked and crouched to better assess the damage. As far as she could tell, numerous wires had been severed and torn to bits. She looked over at Grillby. He shrugged and drank his coffee. She wanted to try. Styx made a mental note to remember to bring some electrical tape and a pair of wire cutters. The hole appeared almost big enough to stick her head in. She stood and turned to return to the bar. Styx almost ran right into Grillby. How had she not heard? She jumped back.

"Sorry!" She squeaked and felt her face light up and burn with a vengeance. You klutz. She scolded herself.

"...My fault." He murmured. Her very first day and she was being an idiot. No wonder you don't have any friends. Other than because you...


	7. Cheeseburger in Paradise

The minutes ticked by at an excruciatingly slow pace. Good thing that Styx had forgotten her headphones. Or maybe she lost them. They weren't in her pocket, she didn't want to think about what would happen of she lost them. There was not a thing to do. Well, there probably was but she didn't want to interrupt Grillby, who had retired to a table on the left where he sat quietly reading. So she drifted about the restaurant searching for anything that would hold her focus for just five minutes! Was that too much to ask for? 

Styx sat at one of the tables, her hand supporting her head as she shot a few gold coins across the table. Yes, it had come to that. She lined up three gold coins in a triangle with sides touching. She quickly tapped the two coins side by side and the coin at the "head" would move about ten inches away from the others. Styx's stomach growled audibly, an empty feeling. That was another thing she had forgotten. Her lunch. 

How could she have been so careless? You had one job today, apparently you couldn't handle it. She silently cursed herself as her stomach complained its hunger again.

"...Hungry?" Grillby asked from his side of the restaurant.

"Yeah, you could say that." Styx replied.

"...I was going to cook lunch... Do you want anything?" He proposed quietly and marked his place in the book. He set it down gently on the table and stood.

"Like off the menu?" Styx asked. Grillby nodded. She considered her options, everything sounded great. When all else fails. "Chicken sandwich, please." She followed her fiery employer into the kitchen. The sign above the door read: 'Fire Exit'. I guess I can't go through the door because I'm not made of fire. She thought lightly. 

In the back of the restaurant, Grillby opened one of the refrigerators and produced two chicken patties. He then took them over to a stainless steel counter and set them down. That's all it seemed to be at first glance, but upon further inspection Styx saw there was a slot about three inches wide that went all the way to the back. The top of the counter was very thin above it. A spatula sat on the counter next to the steel one. 

Grillby put his hand into the slot. Suddenly, the flames on his hand flared blue and white, the entire crevice roared with blue fire. Styx stepped back, the heat was so intense. And just like morning dew under the scathing heat of a summer sun, it was gone. 

"Yikes! Stop, drop, and Rock n' Roll!" Styx exclaimed. "That was cool." Grillby shrugged and seemingly laughed to himself. 

"...Mind grabbing those?" He pointed to a plastic bag of sandwich buns across the room. Styx retrieved them and pulled out two of them. Grillby picked up the spatula and put the sandwiches together. He went back to the fridge.

"...Do you want any sauce?" he asked.

"Honey mustard, if you have it, please." She replied. Grillby opened the fridge again and brought back two slices of lettuce and mozzarella cheese and a few packets of honey mustard, plates from a cupboard. The aroma of grilled chicken hit her nose. She relished the mouthwatering smell as the fiery bartender fixed their sandwiches. He handed Styx her's and they carried them out to the front.

"Holy Saint Elmo's Fire! This is incredible!!" Styx gasped. It was singly the best chicken sandwich she  ever had and probably the greatest thing she had ever eaten.

"...It's not my best, but thank you." He replied softly.

"Are you kidding?! This is amazing! It's better than anything I could make." Styx affirmed. She took another bite. The flavor was smokey and savory, like it was grilled over a campfire. And the honey mustard gave it an added sweetness.

"...I'm glad you like it." He murmured. A spark flew off his head and up towards the ceiling. It winked out about three feet up. 


	8. Too Much Time on My Hands

The sandwich wasn't hard to finish quickly, it had tasted great all the way to the last bite. They sat at the bar again. Styx looked over at Grillby, who wasn't even halfway done with his sandwich. And it was evident that her flaming employer did possess a mouth, because he was clearly consuming his lunch. 

The bells on the door rang. 

They both turned to see who walked in. A short, stout skeleton, by the looks of it. He was wearing an unzipped blue hoodie over a plain white tshirt. Despite the frigid temperatures outside, he had on a pair of black jogger shorts. Pink slippers completely offset his outfit. He crossed over to them with slow, nonchalant steps. A lazily relaxed grin played on his boney skull and there were two tiny pinpricks of white light that resembled pupils in his eye sockets.

"Hey, Grillbz." He spoke in baritone voice, one that could only compete with Grillby's.

"...Hello, Sans." Ah, so that's who he was. Styx's employer stared at the skeleton.

"I'll have my usual." He said casually. Grillby stood and abandoned his lunch to retrieve something from behind the bar. Sans sat on the bar stool next to Styx on the right. He glanced over at her and winked, never stopped smiling the whole time.

"I'm Sans, Sans the Skeleton." he said.

"I'm Styx." She said and shot him a smile. She extended her closed hand towards him. They stacked fists together.

"Nice to BEET you, Styx." Bad puns were great.

"And it's a pleasure to MEAT you too, Sans." Styx joked with a toothy grin. Grillby slid a bottle of ketchup over to Sans.

"Thanks." He said and picked it up with his boney fingers. He started to drink the ketchup. Why would anyone drink ketchup?

"...Least expensive thing on the menu." Grillby explained. He most likely had seen the shocked expression on her face. Styx was pretty sure he couldn't read her mind. She laughed as the short skeleton continued to drink. Grillby rejoined them and resumed eating his lunch. Looking up at the menu she saw it. Ketchup 1 G. And it was listed as a separate item, not a side nor condiment.

"Who is she?" Sans asked Grillby around Styx.

"...New help." He stated taking a bite of his sandwich. 

"Oh. Do a good job, kid." Sans said and got up and left. Kid? KID? How old did he think she was? Fifteen? Styx sighed to herself. She looked a lot younger than she was. 

"...He calls everyone that." Grillby muttered, his flames crackled softly.   
He finally finished the rest of his sandwich. Styx picked up both plates and took them into the kitchen to the sink. She pulled up her sleeves, turned on the water and washed them. 

"...You wash them by hand?" An unexpected voice in her ear made her jump. "...Wouldn't you use magic?" Grillby had snuck behind her again.

"Oh. Um, I don't uh, have any magic." She replied with reluctance. He cocked his head to the side. "You heard me. I don't have any." She explained. Styx never had any magic and she never would.


	9. MESSAGE TO ALL READERS

NOTICE:

This is a message to ALL readers of this fanfiction. As of 10/26/2016 I will no longer be posting new chapters on the Archive. I am continuing to post chapters on www.quotev.com under the name LIZzardtheWizard, same as here. I hope you keep reading there. I apologize for this but it is easier for me to use Quotev and I like it more than AO3. I am aware this site is still in beta. I also would like to inform that this fanfiction posses a different title on Quotev. It is referred to as "Stairway to Heaven".

I am not deleting my account on the archive and you may continue to post comments and kudos. I will respond.

Again, I'm very sorry for the inconvenience.

Have a Fantabulous day!

-LIZzard_the_Wizard

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think. Or if anyone can come up with a better title haha :)


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